<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Mall Santa Miracle by BrianneABanana</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28270356">A Mall Santa Miracle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianneABanana/pseuds/BrianneABanana'>BrianneABanana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, James POV, Light recollection of Qrow's Family history, M/M, Past Character Death, a cute matchmaking fic, the girls are little in this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:26:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28270356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianneABanana/pseuds/BrianneABanana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When James Ironwood retired, he had a job lined up to keep him occupied and well funded. The Mall Santa gig was just a side job for fun, but it ended up meaning so much more.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clover Ebi &amp; James Ironwood, Qrow Branwen &amp; James Ironwood, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Mall Santa Miracle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>James checked the large, fancy clock across the open mall from his seat, noting that it was close to the end of his shift. The line of children and parents in front of him was thankfully sparse. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good, he’d have enough time to chat with Qrow and entertain his friends’ spunky nieces before he left for the evening.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As it happened, he was in the middle of being Santa Clause. Not the </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual Santa</span>
  </em>
  <span> of course, but a mall Santa that asked kids for their Christmas wishes and took pictures with them for their parents. He got recommended to the gig by a coworker when he retired a few years ago. Not to be unprepared for an early retirement, he had another job lined up that would more than support him, but he supposed that taking the seasonal job as Santa would give back to people and make them, and him, happier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So now he was wearing a large red Santa costume - with stuffing inside as he was still a very fit man for being close to 50, - a fake white beard over his dark but greying one, and sitting on a beautiful fake set of winter wonderland. Oh, and he had his helper elf with him!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Usually, he had a woman by the name of Winter as his helper elf. He and Winter had started around the same time and got along fairly well, so they were happy to have the same shifts together every year. Sadly, Winter had a family emergency recently and had to leave town for a few weeks. To fill in for her was a wonderfully kind and handsome man by the name of Clover, who just so happened to be an old friend of his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James had met Clover through work a number of years ago, their offices collaborating on a contract, so he had gotten to know the younger man. They kept in touch even after completing the project, occasionally catching up and going for drinks. It had been a surprise to see him filling in for Winter, but it made sense that this would be his seasonal job- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clover was familiar with handling kids, as he started working as an elementary school teacher and gym coach, so the elf gig came to him easy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Subtly rejecting the single - and sometimes married - mothers was more difficult however, seeing as Clover was very much gay. </span>
  </em>
  <span>James had laughed and joked with him at first, but got tired of seeing the man’s awkward and nervous turndowns, soon helping direct the mothers away from him. Clover very much appreciated the help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uncle James!” “Uncle James!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young girls’ calls pulled James from his thoughts. He smiled fondly as the two sisters ran completely through the queue line by ducking under the rope barriers, their adorable Christmas outfits jingling as they went.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he couldn’t forget their guardian either, swiftly walking through the line after them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he caught up to them a tad winded, he chided “Girls, what have I told you about running ahead and calling him ‘Uncle James’ when he’s working?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both girls looked down, the 6 year old pouting with her arms crossed and the 4 year old fiddling with her skirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re sorry Uncle Qrow” they said together dejectedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James laughed and scooped the girls onto either knee. “Nonsense! I’m always happy to see you girls,” he soothed. His voice dropped to a whisper as he said with a wink “besides, no one else is around to hear my secret identity.” He waited for their giggles to die down before he addressed them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yang, Ruby, what do you want for Christmas this year?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang knew exactly what she wanted, blurting out “boxing gloves!” and pumping her tiny 6 year old fists.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James gaped at her, then at Qrow, who shrugged with tired shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She changed the tv to the boxing channel a few weeks ago when I was busy making their lunches, so now she wants to box. You know how kids are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can say that again.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James followed Qrow’s bewildered look over to Clover, who had been standing beside him in confused silence before agreeing emphatically with Qrow. He had almost forgotten that Clover was there, as he was occupied with the girls, but now that the younger man had essentially joined their conversation, introductions were in order. Before Clover or Qrow could say anything, he decided to make things easy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gesturing first to Clover, he explained “Qrow, this is Clover. He’s my elf helper filling in for Winter, but he’s also an old work friend. He’s an elementary school teacher and gym coach now though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man himself blushed, a tad indignant that James pointed out the obvious elf costume, most likely for his own amusement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Which it was.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James also took notice that Qrow’s face had flushed a little, his eyes traveling to places other than Clover’s own face... </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait… Was Qrow, his recently made single parent friend handling two nieces, attracted to his other currently single friend who worked with young children? Oh he could work with this... </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And Clover” he redirected, mischief in his voice now, “this is Qrow. He’s also an old friend of mine, but we know each other through family rather than work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that why the girls call you ‘Uncle James’?” Clover asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, no, I’m only an Uncle in nickname, no familial relation. Qrow is the girl’s real uncle. Though, I think I remember Qrow downloading a dating app a few weeks ago. Maybe he’s looking to add to the family?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>shameless</span>
  </em>
  <span> drop of Qrow being on the market did exactly what he intended - Getting Qrow to fluster and stammer in embarrassment and Clover to look back at him with an appraising, flirtatious gaze. Unfortunately, Qrow suddenly became dejected and doubtful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jimmy, you know I’m not ready-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense” he countered, stopping his friend’s self deprecating. “I think putting yourself out there would be good for you Qrow, and trust me when I say that Clover would be great for you, and you for him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both of his friends blushed at his kind words. Qrow tried to argue again, but his girls interrupted this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I still don’t think-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go for it Uncle Qrow!” Yang cheered, pumping her fists again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea!” agreed Ruby, “You need someone to help you around the house and make you happy like mommy did for daddy!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qrow’s eyes got a little misty at that idea. Before he could reply or attempt to deflect, he was yet again stopped. This time by Clover, who decided to be forward and take Qrows’ hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Qrow, I don’t know your life or your struggles, but I’d like to at least get to know you a little, if that's ok? No pressure for anything romantic either, it can just be as friends if you want.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really, you would want to...?” Qrow asked, skeptical of the man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really” Clover confirmed. “If James thinks you’d be good for me and if you keep looking as handsome and attractive as you do now in that tacky Christmas sweater, I’ll want to take you out somewhere. After I get your girls approval, of course” he added, winking at Yang and Ruby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the girls giggled at Clover, Qrow blushed deeper and really took in Clover’s words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cleared his throat and tried his best to make eye contact with the earnest man. “Um… o-ok, I’m ok with that. G-Getting to know you I mean...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clover’s face lit up in a wide smile, contagiously spreading to Qrow, James, and the girls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clover and I have another few minutes before we have to close Qrow” James said. “Why don’t you two get further acquainted while I talk to Yang and Ruby?” he suggested, shooing them away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James felt a tug on his fake beard. Yang was trying to get his attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uncle James, can I tell you about school while Ruby thinks of what she wants?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled down at her, “Of course Yang, what did you want to tell me?”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Yang and Ruby finished telling him their </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite extravagant and extensive</span>
  </em>
  <span> wish lists, he looked back over at his two friends. They were standing close and talking lowly. Worry creeped in when he noticed Qrow crying, but it was quickly quelled as he saw the lithe man allow Clover to wipe his tears and hold him close. Their shift ended about 10 minutes ago, but James didn’t think it mattered today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Qrow and the girls said goodbye, Qrow and Clover having exchanged numbers with the promise to text and call later, James felt warm. Not because of his large suit, but because of his friends potentially finding happiness in each other. Though…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned to Clover when Qrow and his girls were out of sight. “Can I ask why Qrow was crying?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The color drained from Clover’s face a bit and he stumbled on his words trying to explain. “Oh uh… it wasn’t my fault! I mean it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but... “</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax Clover, I know you wouldn’t intend to hurt him. Was it about his past family?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clover wilted. “Yea… he wanted to be honest with me about what he was going through at the moment. That he was a single guardian of his nieces after his former brother-in-law and his wife died in an accident. That his twin sister abandoned them after Yang was born. That he was afraid both of replacing them and potentially losing anyone else he let close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James hummed in understanding. “Yes, Qrow has gone through a lot with his family in the last decade, and hasn’t been the same person I knew when we were younger. To be honest I was afraid that he’d never open up to anyone about what he was feeling, since he tends to brush off help or praise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He did tell me that,” Clover said. “After he finished explaining I assured him that I’d be careful about what I said and did to keep his boundaries in mind and not upset him. He said he wasn’t used to that level of kindness from someone other than family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, your first meeting worked very well it seems. I wasn’t being facetious when I said you two would be good for each other. I think you </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> could stand to gain some happiness from being in a relationship. Now then. Let’s stop having a serious conversation in these costumes, our shift was over 40 minutes ago.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clover just laughed, his elf hat jingling.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not even a week later, James found himself on Qrow’s couch with the girls playing on the floor. Qrow and Clover had clicked quickly over texting and calls, deciding to bypass the teenage flirting phase and jump right into seriously dating, so James being the wonderful friend he was offered to babysit the girls. They’d only be gone for the evening, so a few hours with his pseudo nieces was no problem. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Part way through the night his phone chimed, indicating a text from Qrow. Upon opening it, he smiled, seeing a selfie of the two holding each other close and beaming into the camera. The text under the photo was Qrow thanking him for setting them up, and that he owed him big time for taking care of the girls so they could go on dates.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James sent back a photo of himself looking into the camera deadpanned, the girls climbing all over his large broad frame. He wrote “You can pay for the medical bills I’ll accrue now that your girls have deemed me their ‘Uncle Jungle Jim.’”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d share a long laugh with his friends when they’d return that night hand in hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d be there to babysit Yang and Ruby entire weekends. He’d be the first to be told they were moving in together, and the first to be confided in about family meeting jitters. He sat front and center on the beautiful winter night that Clover got down on one knee, and from his spot behind them as they said their vows. The happiest moment he shared though, was when the adoption papers were signed with Qrow and Clover as the girl’s fathers and himself as their godfather.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew that Santa gig would be worth it. And it was, a million times over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>